Seal Beach shooting anniversary: Legal battles follow tragedy

SANTA ANA - It was a brief moment that lasted mere minutes - yet the aftermath is still being felt more than a year later.

Family members of the eight people killed by alleged gunman Scott Dekraai on Oct. 12, 2011, in a Seal Beach hair salon are still waiting for justice in criminal court - and will likely have to wait even longer for civil suits to be resolved.

At the same time, multiple other legal battles, from a child custody fight to a lawsuit against the salon's insurance company, have followed in the wake of Dekraai's arrest.

Dekraai's death penalty trial was postponed until March 25, 2013, at his last hearing in August - but it likely won't even happen then, attorneys said this week.

Public Defender Scott Sanders told Orange County Superior Court Judge Thomas Goethals in August the March date was an unrealistic deadline for the trial given the volume of evidence and the complications inherent in a death penalty case. At that hearing, Sanders said the bulk of the 10,500 pages of documents chronicling the evidence was turned over during the past three months, and "even if we were to work every day for 24 hours, we wouldn't be ready," he said.

However, Deputy District Attorney Daniel Wagner countered at the August hearing that Sanders' claims were incorrect, noting the prosecutor's office had turned all the evidence over to the defense by April. Prosecutors have since told families of the victims they are willing to extend the trial date to April 2013 as a courtesy but will agree to no further delays.

Meanwhile, Dekraai has been held in custody at the Orange County Jail without bail since his arrest the day of the slayings.

Dekraai has pleaded not guilty to eight counts of murder and one count of attempted murder in the shooting spree at Salon Meritage in Seal Beach. Eight of the nine gunshot victims were inside the salon and one victim was shot while sitting in his SUV parked outside the business.

Police and prosecutors say a bitter child custody dispute between Dekraai and Fournier spurred the deadly rampage. Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said the accused and his ex-wife were in a Santa Ana courtroom the day before the shooting for a hearing involving custody of their 8-year-old son, Dominic.

Dekraai had sought sole custody, but a court-ordered report recommended against it.

Dekraai's bid to keep Fournier's daughter, Chelsea Huff, and Fournier's father, Joe Burke, from being granted legal guardianship failed in July. Nonetheless, Dekraai's mother, Michelle Hinmon of Long Beach, is still seeking visitation rights with her grandson, who lives in Los Alamitos with Huff and her dad and stepmom.

The move rankled many of Fournier's relatives, who said they fear Dekraai could still be trying to manipulate his son through Hinmon. Attorneys for the various parties, however, said the families have been talking and have agreed to do what is best for Dominic as determined by a psychologist.

As for Dekraai's case, he has appeared in at least nine court hearings since his arrest, saying little and staring emotionlessly at the families of the victims and at Stretz as they have struggled to keep their feelings in check.

Some of the families struck back almost immediately with lawsuits. Fournier's family and the family of victim Christy Lynn Wilson both filed wrongful death suits in the weeks after the mass killing. Those cases likely won't be heard until after the criminal case is completed, lawyers said.

Earlier this week, Sandra "Sandi" Fannin, the wife of slain Salon Meritage owner Randy Fannin, filed a civil suit against the insurance carrier for the couple's business. The suit, filed Tuesday against Employers Mutual Casualty Co. at the Orange County Superior Court's Central Justice Center, alleges the company treated the survivor - who was in the salon when her husband and the others were killed - "as an adversary ... (and) with disdain instead of compassion."

In the 11-page civil complaint, Fannin said the insurance company dragged its feet before grudgingly paying her about $30,000, which amounted to less than half of the actual loss from the business being forced to close, she claims.

A representative of Hirsch, Closson, McMillan and Schroeder of San Diego, the law firm representing the insurance company, declined to comment.

Fannin is seeking $50,000 to $70,000 for the closure of the business and unspecified damages for emotional distress, court documents show.

The salon, which was purchased by a friend and hair stylist, has remained closed since the day of the shooting and is undergoing an extensive renovation. Crews at the site said they expect it to be ready for business in mid-November.